EPA wants chemical info from 9 service providers
http://www.timesleader.com/news/EPA-wants-chemical-info-from-9-service-providers.html
September 10, 2010
EPA wants chemical info from 9 service providers
MATT HUGHES mhughes@timesleader.com
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it has requested information about chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process from nine leading service providers involved in operations in the Marcellus Shale natural gas region.
The EPA said it is preparing a study of whether a link exists between hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” and a health hazard from contaminated drinking water.
“This scientifically rigorous study will help us understand the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water – a concern that has been raised by Congress and the American people,” EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a statement Thursday.
The federal agency has requested information about the contents of hydraulic fracturing fluids used by BJ Services, Complete Production Services, Halliburton, Key Energy Services, Patterson-UTI, RPC Inc., Schlumberger, Superior Well Services and Weatherford, all of which are involved in fracking the Marcellus Shale.
The announcement comes as Congress debates two bills, introduced in June 2009, and collectively dubbed the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals, or FRAC Act, which would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require drillers to disclose the contents of hydraulic fracturing fluids and which would subject the hydraulic fracturing process to federal regulation.
The study also follows a November 2009 request by Congress that the EPA undertake a new study of the process. The EPA said it plans to announce initial results of the study in late 2012.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which water, sand and additives are pumped into underground geological formations to create fractures, and, in the case of shale gas drilling, unlock natural gas deposits.
A spokesman for the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a group advocating Marcellus Shale gas extraction, said his group is eager to assist the EPA in any way it can with its study, as he believes it will verify the safety of the fracking process.
Coalition spokesman Travis Windle said the fracking process has a more than 60-year record of safe operations and a 2004 EPA study of hydraulic fracturing in much shallower coal bed methane reservoirs found no link between fracking and aquifer contamination.
“We’re confident that a study, which is grounded in facts, and is straightforward and methodical, is going to prove what the EPA said in the past,” Windle said “It’s going to underscore the long and clear record that fracturing does not pose any threat to groundwater contamination.”
However, the coalition strongly opposes the EPA regulation that Congress is considering, Windle said, stating federal regulation “would devastate job production.”
“The 44,000 jobs that our industry has created in Pennsylvania alone in the last four years would be dramatically undercut if this misguided legislation was enacted,” Windle said, explaining that under the proposed FRAC Act legislation, drillers would be required to apply for EPA permits before beginning hydraulic fracturing, which would slow the drilling.
Windle said chemicals used in fracking fluid in Pennsylvania are publicly available information and the industry is monitored by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
A spokesman for gas-extraction company Cabot Oil and Gas, which is active in Susquehanna County, said the company is not involved in the EPA study, but welcomes the opportunity “to partner with the EPA to show them that it’s a safe technology.”
Cabot is involved in a lawsuit brought in 2009 by Dimock residents, who claim Cabot’s drilling operations polluted their drinking water.
Cabot spokesman George Stark would not comment on the subject of an active lawsuit, but said generally of Dimock that “the Department of Environmental Protection has stated that the situation there is not the result of hydraulic fracturing.”
“In the operations that Cabot has been involved with, we have not seen that there has been a threat to drinking water through the hydraulic fracturing process,” Stark said.
EPA Launches Web Forum on How to Best Protect America’s Drinking Water
http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/dwstrategy/index.cfm
EPA Launches Web Forum on How to Best Protect America’s Drinking Water
Washington (Aug. 17) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a web-based discussion forum to gather public input on how the agency can improve protection of drinking water.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a web-based discussion forum to gather public input on how the agency can improve protection of drinking water. The information will be used in implementing EPA’s new drinking water strategy announced by Administrator Lisa P. Jackson in March.
“We look forward to reviewing the ideas and feedback from the public,” said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “This online discussion is for anyone who wants to share their input on protecting drinking water and improving public health.”
EPA seeks input from water professionals, advocates, and anyone interested in drinking water quality issues about best solutions for issues facing our nation’s drinking water—planning, developing scientific tools, controlling water pollution and use of resources.
The discussion forum will feature a series of topics based on the four segments of the drinking water strategy: addressing contaminants as groups rather than one at a time, fostering development of new technologies, using the existing authority of several statues to protect drinking water, and partnering with states to share more complete data.
The forum will be open for discussion for about a month, with each topic area being discussed separately. Addressing contaminants as groups will also be discussed separately at a web-based meeting at the end of July.
To join the discussion: http://blog.epa.gov/dwstrat
More information on the new Drinking Water Strategy: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/sdwa/dwstrategy.html
Palmerton Citizens for a Clean Environment will be holding a public meeting
http://www.tnonline.com/node/123117
Reported on Friday, August 6, 2010
Clean Environmental meeting set for Aug. 10
The Palmerton Citizens for a Clean Environment will be holding a public meeting Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Palmerton Ambulance building on Delaware Avenue.
Charlie Root, EPA Superfund Project Manager, will be in attendance and will provide updates on the borough’s Superfund issues. Also attending is: Dave Polish, EPA Community Coordinator; Griff Miller, the “Ricra” lead for the EPA’s West Plant Revitalization Program; and Jim Kunkle, a liaison from the Department of Environmental Protection.
The meeting will be open to the public.
Research links pesticides with ADHD in children
May 17, 12:02 AM EDT
Research links pesticides with ADHD in children
By CARLA K. JOHNSON
AP Medical Writer
CHICAGO (AP) — A new analysis of U.S. health data links children’s attention-deficit disorder with exposure to common pesticides used on fruits and vegetables.
While the study couldn’t prove that pesticides used in agriculture contribute to childhood learning problems, experts said the research is persuasive.
“I would take it quite seriously,” said Virginia Rauh of Columbia University, who has studied prenatal exposure to pesticides and wasn’t involved in the new study.
More research will be needed to confirm the tie, she said.
Children may be especially prone to the health risks of pesticides because they’re still growing and they may consume more pesticide residue than adults relative to their body weight.
In the body, pesticides break down into compounds that can be measured in urine. Almost universally, the study found detectable levels: The compounds turned up in the urine of 94 percent of the children.
The kids with higher levels had increased chances of having ADHD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a common problem that causes students to have trouble in school. The findings were published Monday in Pediatrics.
The children may have eaten food treated with pesticides, breathed it in the air or swallowed it in their drinking water. The study didn’t determine how they were exposed. Experts said it’s likely children who don’t live near farms are exposed through what they eat.
“Exposure is practically ubiquitous. We’re all exposed,” said lead author Maryse Bouchard of the University of Montreal.
She said people can limit their exposure by eating organic produce. Frozen blueberries, strawberries and celery had more pesticide residue than other foods in one government report.
A 2008 Emory University study found that in children who switched to organically grown fruits and vegetables, urine levels of pesticide compounds dropped to undetectable or close to undetectable levels.
Because of known dangers of pesticides in humans, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits how much residue can stay on food. But the new study shows it’s possible even tiny, allowable amounts of pesticide may affect brain chemistry, Rauh said.
The exact causes behind the children’s reported ADHD though are unclear. Any number of factors could have caused the symptoms and the link with pesticides could be by chance.
The new findings are based on one-time urine samples in 1,139 children and interviews with their parents to determine which children had ADHD. The children, ages 8 to 15, took part in a government health survey in 2000-2004.
As reported by their parents, about 150 children in the study either showed the severe inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity characteristic of ADHD, or were taking drugs to treat it.
The study dealt with one common type of pesticide called organophosphates. Levels of six pesticide compounds were measured. For the most frequent compound detected, 20 percent of the children with above-average levels had ADHD. In children with no detectable amount in their urine, 10 percent had ADHD.
“This is a well conducted study,” said Dr. Lynn Goldman of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a former EPA administrator.
Relying on one urine sample for each child, instead of multiple samples over time, wasn’t ideal, Goldman said.
The study provides more evidence that the government should encourage farmers to switch to organic methods, said Margaret Reeves, senior scientist with the Pesticide Action Network, an advocacy group that’s been working to end the use of many pesticides.
“It’s unpardonable to allow this exposure to continue,” Reeves said.
On the Net:
Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org/
EPA: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food
Amount of Spill Could Escalate, Company Admits
Amount of Spill Could Escalate, Company Admits
By JOHN M. BRODER, CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Published: May 4, 2010
A senior BP executive said the crippled oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico could spill as many as 60,000 barrels a day of oil, more than 10 times the estimate of the current flow.
Tracking the Oil Spill
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/01/us/20100501-oil-spill-tracker.html?ref=us
Published: May 1, 2010
Tracking the Oil Spill
The map sequence shows how the oil spill has been spreading in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Coast Guard
“BE AIR AWARE”
Air Quality Awareness Week
May 3rd thru May 7th, 2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service urge Americans to “Be Air Aware” during Air Quality Awareness Week, May 3-7, 2010
Join the EPA and NOAA next week as they examine the following topics:
* Monday: Ozone and particle pollution
* Tuesday: What causes poor air quality?
* Wednesday: Keeping your lungs and heart safe
* Thursday: What are air quality forecasts.
* Friday: What can you do to help make the air cleaner?
To find out more visit: Air Quality Awareness Week
http://www.airquality.noaa.gov/
Casey Calls for More Oversight of Natural Gas Drilling
http://casey.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=e0885ca7-425b-4f8e-b03f-31a75acfc610
Urges EPA investigation of drinking water contamination
April 26, 2010
SCRANTON, PA—U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today was joined by residents in the Dimock area whose wells were contaminated by drilling conducted by Texas-based Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. as he called for additional oversight of natural gas drilling. Senator Casey today sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging them to examine its current authority to determine whether it can take additional steps in Pennsylvania to investigate and respond to groundwater contamination and other potentially harmful consequences of drilling.
“Natural gas drilling can provide an economic boost to Pennsylvania but we must protect ground water,” said Senator Casey. “We will not allow an out-of-state company to come to Pennsylvania and contaminate the groundwater of our residents. Three million Pennsylvanians rely on wells for their drinking water. We must ensure adequate safeguards are in place to protect this most basic necessity for Pennsylvanians.”
Read more
Natural Gas Drilling Tip Line
http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/report-environmental-violations
Natural Gas Drilling Tip Line
EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region has a natural gas drilling tip line for reporting dumping and other illegal or suspicious hauling and/or disposal activities.
Tip line number (toll free): 877-919-4372 (877-919-4EPA)
Tip email address: eyesondrilling@epa.gov
Tip mailing address: EPA Region 3
1650 Arch Street (3CEOO)
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029
Documenting Suspicious Activity
To the extent possible, record:
• Location of the event
• Date of the event
• Time of the event
• Who, if anyone you interacted with during the event
Photos and videos are great ways to document observations. Be sure to record the date and time the photo or video was taken. Email your digital files, or mail your photographic prints, video cassettes, or CD-ROM disks to EPA using the contact information above.
When describing what you observed, include:
• Activity taking place, including description of equipment and materials involved
• Descriptions of vehicles
– Color
– Company name or logo
– License plate number
– Type of vehicle
• Destination of discharge (physical location and stream name, if known)
• Environmental impacts: discoloration, dying vegetation, dead fish or other wildlife
Thank you for reporting this information to EPA.
EPA’s Budget Proposal Seeks Efficiencies, Increased Environmental Protection
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2010
EPA’s Budget Proposal Seeks Efficiencies, Increased Environmental Protection
Budget proposal aligned with Administrator Jackson’s key priorities
WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration today proposed a budget of $10 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This budget heeds the president’s call to streamline and find efficiencies in the agency’s operations while supporting the seven priority areas EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson outlined to guide EPA’s work.
“To meet our environmental challenges and ensure fiscal responsibility, we’re proposing targeted investments in core priorities. This budget cuts spending while promoting clean air, land and water, growing the green economy and strengthening enforcement,” said Administrator Jackson. ”The president’s budget is focused on creating the conditions that help American families, communities and small businesses thrive. Clean air, clear water and green jobs are rebuilding the foundations for prosperity in communities across the country.”
Budget Highlights:
Cleaning up communities: This budget includes $1.3 billion to address Superfund sites that may be releasing harmful or toxic substances into the surrounding community. Cleaning up these sites improves communities’ health and allows for these properties to be used for economic development.
In addition, $215 million is provided to clean up abandoned or underused industrial and commercial sites that are available for alternative uses but where redevelopment may be complicated by the presence of environmental contaminants. Revitalizing these once productive properties, known as brownfields, helps communities by removing blight, satisfying the growing demand for land, and enabling economic development. EPA will focus its efforts on area-wide planning and cleanups, especially in under-served and economically disadvantaged communities.
This budget also offers $27 million for EPA’s new Healthy Communities Initiative. This initiative will address community water priorities; promote clean, green, and healthy schools; improve air toxics monitoring in at-risk communities; and encourage sustainability by helping to ensure that policies and spending at the national level do not adversely affect the environment and public health or disproportionally harm disadvantaged communities.
Improving Air Quality: In addition to the funding provided through the Healthy Communities Initiative, this budget includes $60 million to support state efforts to implement updated National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA proposed stricter air quality standards for smog and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and will work with states to help them meet those standards in the years ahead.
Building Strong State and Tribal Partnerships: This budget includes $1.3 billion for state and tribal grants. State and local governments are working diligently to implement new and expanded requirements under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. New and expanded requirements include implementation of updated NAAQS and addressing emerging water quality issues such as nutrient pollution. In addition to the $25 million for greenhouse gas permitting and $60 million to support state efforts to implement updated NAAQS, the $1.3 billion for state and tribal grants includes $45 million for states to enhance their water enforcement and permitting programs. In order to help tribes move forward with implementation of environmental programs, $30 million is budgeted for a new competitive Tribal Multi-media Implementation grant program. To further enhance tribal environmental management capabilities, this budget also includes an additional $9 million for Tribal General Assistance Program grants.
Taking Action on Climate Change: This budget contains more than $43 million for additional efforts to address climate change and work toward a clean energy future. EPA will implement the greenhouse gas reporting rule; provide technical assistance to ensure that any permitting under the Clean Air Act will be manageable; perform regulatory work for the largest stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions; develop standards for mobile sources such as cars and trucks; and continue research of carbon capture and sequestration technologies.
Protecting America’s Waters: This budget broadens efforts to clean up America’s great waterbodies. It provides $63 million for efforts to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and $17 million for the Mississippi River Basin to respond to non-point source control recommendations of the Nutrients Innovation Task Group and implement recommendations outlined in the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Action Plan.
This budget also invests $3.3 billion to maintain and improve outdated water infrastructure and keep our wastewater and drinking water clean and safe. This is in addition to $6 billion in funding provided to states through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Assuring the Safety of Chemicals: This budget calls for $56 million for chemical assessment and risk review to ensure that no unreasonable risks are posed by new or existing chemicals. This budget also invests $29 million (including $15 million in grants funding) in the continuing effort to eliminate childhood lead poisoning, and $6 million to support national efforts to mitigate exposure to high-risk legacy chemicals, such as mercury and asbestos.
Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism and Working for Environmental Justice: This budget contains $8 million for environmental justice programs. It targets increased brownfields investments to under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, and proposes $9 million for community water priorities in the Healthy Communities Initiative, funds that will help under-served communities restore urban waterways and address water quality challenges. EPA is committed to identifying and addressing the health and environmental burdens faced by communities disproportionately impacted by pollution. This commitment is fulfilled through the agency’s efforts to give people a voice in decisions that impact their lives and to integrate environmental justice in EPA programs, policies and activities.
More information: http://www.epa.gov/budget
CONTACTS:
Enesta Jones (Media Inquiries Only)
jones.enesta@epa.gov
202-564-7873
202-564-4355
Lina Younes (Public Inquiries Only)
younes.lina@epa.gov
202-564-9924
202-564-4355